Man abandons wife at hospital in protest to blood transfusion

Juaso (Ash), May 27, GNA - A man who chose to adhere to his religious beliefs at the expense of the life of his wife, abandoned her at the Juaso District Hospital in protest to the doctor's decision to give her blood.

Mr Kwadwo Atta, a farmer at Nnadieso in the Asante Akim South District and a member of the Saviour Church of Ghana popularly known as 'Gyidi' vanished from the hospital minutes after the doctor informed him that his wife who was brought in unconscious would need blood. She was however given the transfusion.

Interestingly, he never showed up at the hospital throughout the seven days that his wife was on admission.

The wife, Sabina Nketiah, 25, ironically saw nothing wrong with the husband's action when she regained consciousness, maintaining that blood transfusion was against their religious beliefs. When asked if she acknowledged the fact that she was saved by the blood, she respondent that God saved her through the medical team that attended to her, but not the blood.

She further pointed out that she would not have accepted the blood if she was conscious at the time it was administered to her. To further demonstrate her commitment to the principles of the Church, Sabina who was discharged on Saturday morning stayed at the hospital till after 6pm, since members of the church do not travel on Saturdays.

Dr. Ahmed Habib, Medical Superintendent of the hospital told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that Sabina who was suffering from hypovolemic shock as a result of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and was rushed to hospital at about 9pm on May 17.

Having lost blood, the doctor said there was the need to give her blood and informed the husband, only to discover later that he had left the hospital when it became necessary for him to sign the consent form. Dr. Habib said they went ahead and gave her three pints of blood, two of which were harvested from her abdomen.

He expressed concern about some social and religious practices which he said was militating against the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal Five (MDG-5), which seeks to reduce maternal death by 75 per cent by 2015. He identified the main causes of maternal death as delays in taking decision, transport and attending to patients promptly and called on stakeholders to help address the challenges.